The draw will be held on 1 December 2017 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams will be drawn into eight groups of four.

For the draw, the teams will be allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot 1 will contain the hosts Russia (which will be automatically assigned to Position A1) and the best seven teams, Pot 2 will contain the next best eight teams, and so on for Pots 3 and 4. This will be different from previous draws, where only Pot 1 was based on FIFA Rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations. Same as previous editions, teams from the same confederation will not be drawn against each other for the group stage, except for UEFA where each group can contain up to two teams.

The greatest footballing extravaganza on the planet, the 2018 FIFA World Cup is fast approaching, and the fans cannot wait to see their country perform on the biggest of the platforms.

Russia, the host nation for the quadrennial event has left no stone unturned in its preparation and is monitored closely by FIFA. India, as we all know closely, follows this mega footballing event and is set to be a major contributor to the TV viewership of FIFA World Cup.

Hence, in order to assist the fans be in the know-how of when and where their favourite team is playing, we present to you FIFA World Cup 2018 schedule http://bit.ly/WC2018-Timing

Russian lawmaker urges local women not to have sex with foreigners at the World CupTamara Pletnyova told a Moscow radio station that local women should avoid having sex with foreign men during the 2018 World Cup. She later added that if a woman truly feels the need to do so, she should find a partner of the same race.

Katto wrote:Saudi Arabia finished above Australia in the qualifying group

Saudis are in disarray since the qualifiers ended. They lost their manager due to a contract dispute (he's now managing Australia actually) and some of their better players have hardly played this year after moving to Spain. Aussie will do better though it's still a tall order for them to challenge for the top 2 spots. At least Tim Cahill has a chance to join some very exclusive company.

^ You cannot say it for granted. South Korea beat Italy in 2002 world cup Round of 16. They also beat Spain in the Quarter Final in the same tournament. Yes, they were the host. But as a host Brazil has 1-7 record vs Germany.

My point is in Asia, South Korea has got the quality to play in world cup if the qualifying round is global.

Leo wrote:^ You cannot say it for granted. South Korea beat Italy in 2002 world cup Round of 16. They also beat Spain in the Quarter Final in the same tournament. Yes, they were the host. But as a host Brazil has 1-7 record vs Germany.

My point is in Asia, South Korea has got the quality to play in world cup if the qualifying round is global.

They are not in a strong era though. Look at their recent results. Asia is going backwards.I recall South Korea had some very dodgy refereeing going their way at the 2002 cup.

Leo wrote:^ You cannot say it for granted. South Korea beat Italy in 2002 world cup Round of 16. They also beat Spain in the Quarter Final in the same tournament. Yes, they were the host. But as a host Brazil has 1-7 record vs Germany.

My point is in Asia, South Korea has got the quality to play in world cup if the qualifying round is global.

They are not in a strong era though. Look at their recent results. Asia is going backwards.I recall South Korea had some very dodgy refereeing going their way at the 2002 cup.

Going South wrote:you need modi for football franchise administration of indian football.

can a cricket stadium double up as a football stadium? how hard would it be ?

I think the MCG has staged football matches in the past

with disastrous resultsits one reason why soccer in Australia is a laughing stock because of some of the internationals played on bumpy cricket pitch squares and the crowd is about 50 metres away from the touch lines

The Third Man wrote:I think the MCG has staged football matches in the past

with disastrous resultsits one reason why soccer in Australia is a laughing stock because of some of the internationals played on bumpy cricket pitch squares and the crowd is about 50 metres away from the touch lines

Katto wrote:with disastrous resultsits one reason why soccer in Australia is a laughing stock because of some of the internationals played on bumpy cricket pitch squares and the crowd is about 50 metres away from the touch lines

Germany did not look like the number 1 side and defending champions. Mexico had clearly done their homework.

Having said that, it is not uncommon for teams to lose their first match and still win the tournament. In 1974, West Germany had lost to East Germany 0-1 in their first match. They went on to win the world cup beating Netherlands 2-1 in the final.

squarecut wrote:Germany did not look like the number 1 side and defending champions. Mexico had clearly done their homework.

Having said that, it is not uncommon for teams to lose their first match and still win the tournament. In 1974, West Germany had lost to East Germany 0-1 in their first match. They went on to win the world cup beating Netherlands 2-1 in the final.